Amanda Hirsch

Because the choice is between getting into a lifeboat and tying a boulder around our waists

Back in March 2020, when the world shut down, I thought we were looking at two weeks of Zoom school, maybe four. 

My dad had a different take: “I don’t think kids are going back to school this year.” 

“Pshh” I thought, “That’s extreme.” And then March passed, and April, and May, and here came June, and lo and behold, Dad was right.

It’s hard to know when people are overreacting. For example, when someone says that if Trump is elected, our democracy will die, are they being dramatic or are they accurately predicting outcomes based on data? Maybe a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B? My personal opinion falls solidly in column B. I believe we’re in a moment where the truth is simply so dramatic that to name it is to risk sounding hyperbolic. But I know my confidence in my own beliefs is not inherently persuasive. We all come from different backgrounds and follow different media outlets, different voices on social media. Meanwhile, each and every one of us tries to make sense of an ever more complicated world. It’s hard to find common ground amid all that noise and complexity. Honestly, it’s hard to find time to catch our breath.

So how do we know? 

Do we know Harris is the right candidate because people from across political parties, independents included, are declaring that they will vote for her? I find that persuasive.

If you don’t, is it because you prefer to make up your own mind, rather than following the herd? As a fellow independent thinker, I respect that. But if people as different as Dick Cheney and Bernie Sanders are breaking from their respective herds to declare support for Harris, maybe following suit isn’t following the herd after all. 

Maybe we’re on a sinking ship, and the choice is between getting into a lifeboat and tying a boulder around our waists. 

Maybe I’m overreacting.

But what if I’m not?

Amanda Hirsch is an improv-fueled writer and story coach who is obsessed with meaning and ready for bed by 9 p.m.